The One
by pesterhopper
Summary: The One has come to earth. His coming was prophesied centuries ago: the One shall save the world from doom.
1. Chapter 1

In an observatory in the outskirts of Rome, Father Luigi Benedetto was looking at real-time images from a space telescope on his twin monitors. Clicking on an image to enlarge it, he sees an object slowly making its way into Earth's orbit. He quickly consults an ancient tome on his table, flipping through the pages to confirm what he had just seen. He gasps then says loudly, "The One is coming!"

Father Benedetto dials a number connecting him to the Papal Apartments. A voice answers on the other side, "Hello? Who is this? Can't this wait till morning?" Annoyed, Father Benedetto replies, "This is Benedetto at the observatory. No, it can't wait till morning. I need to speak to Pope Luke. The One is coming."

It took Father Benedetto forty-five minutes to reach Pope Luke's office at the Papal Apartments from the observatory. In his messenger's bag, he carried his laptop and the ancient tome from his table. Father Benedetto was ushered into the office quickly by the Pope's secretary. Pope Luke was already at his desk, Father Patrick McKenna, the Camerlengo stood to the Pope's left. As the door closed behind Father Benedetto, he bowed and kissed the Pope's ring. "What is it you want to tell me, Luigi?" asked Pope Luke. The priest shakily replies, "He is coming, your Holiness. The one prophesied to save the world from doom."

From his bag, Father Benedetto retrieves his laptop and using a secure wi-fi connection, he projects high definition images recorded earlier onto a wall mounted monitor. The images revealed an object which appeared to be a spacecraft making its way into Earth's orbit. Father Benedetto then reaches for the ancient tome, flips through the pages and hands it to Pope Luke. The Pope stares at the page of the ancient tome and the screen, and says "There is no doubt, it is the One. When do we expect this object to enter Earth's atmosphere? Where will it land?"

"Your Holiness, based on its present trajectory it will be in Earth's atmosphere in twenty seven hours. It will land somewhere in Smallville, Kansas in the United States of America," replied Father Benedetto.

Pope Luke looked over to Father Patrick McKenna and said, "I had hoped it will land somewhere else. Inform the local diocese but discreetly and dispatch the Vatican Knights to retrieve the One. Time is of the essence."


	2. Chapter 2

A man in a black suit makes his way through customs at a non-descript airport in Smallville, Kansas. As he steps onto the waiting platform, a black SUV containing three other similarly dressed men drives up to him. The man on the passenger side disembarks and ushers him into the backseat. Closing the door, they drive off into the outskirts of Smallville in silence.

The four men arrive at a property the Vatican had hastily leased (the property owner was more than happy when a year's worth of rent money was deposited into his bank account). The barn within the property was converted into a command center it was set up in such a way that it can rival those set up in military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan. Monitors mounted on the barn walls flashed real-time satellite video showing the trajectory of the One's spacecraft. In a far corner was the command center's armoury replete with firearms and ammunition.

"Father Heinrich! Its so nice to see you again. I hope you had a pleasant flight," said a stocky man with a beard and glasses to the recently arrived man in the black suit.

"Father Luigi! I didn't recognize you outside of your monk's habit. Yes, the flight from Rome was pleasant but the airplane food was not to my liking," the man in the black suit replied.

Heinrich Vogt was a former operator for the Kommando Spezialkräfte Marine of the German Navy. He had been on missions in Somalia, Bosnia and Afghanistan. Like the stories we usually hear about warriors growing weary of war and seeking redemption for the blood they spilt, Heinrich sought for redemption in the Holy Mother Church by joining the priesthood. But his reputation came to Pope Luke's attention and he was invited to join the ranks of the Vatican Knights. Being a man of action, he immediately accepted the invitation. Heinrich quickly rose within the ranks until he reached the position of Commander.

"Father Heinrich?" said Father Luigi Benedetto. Snapping Heinrich out of his reverie, "Oh, sorry, Father Luigi. I must have drifted off for a moment. Must be the jetlag setting in. What is it you were saying?"

"The spacecraft will be in the atmosphere in five hours, Heinrich. We have to prepare," said Father Benedetto.

For five hours, everyone in the command center had their eyes on the wall mounted monitors. At thirty minutes before impact, the Vatican Knights were already spread out on the field. Each one hoping to be the first to find the crash site.

At twenty seconds before impact, the skies were filled with a bright light and a loud boom was heard in the horizon. The spacecraft was alight as it entered the Earth's atmosphere. It crashed into a clearing a few miles from the Vatican leased property.

Before the dust and debris settled, Heinrich is already sprinting out of the SUV. He comes upon the spacecraft. To his surprise, it was warm and not burning hot. At his touch, the canopy disengaged and exposed the craft's interior. Within was a male infant covered in a red blanket. Heinrich carefully brought out the infant of the craft. He instructed his fellow Knights and the assembled support crews, "Secure the crash site. Ready the craft for transport. Get moving! We should be far away before the local authorities arrive. His Holiness wants this infant in the Vatican within twenty four hours!"

Heinrich looks at the infant and says in german, "I am Heinrich and I will take you to His Holiness." The male infant replies with a happy gurgle.

Twenty four hours after his arrival to Earth, the infant is presented before Pope Luke. Camerlengo Patrick McKenna motions Heinrich and Fr. Benedetto over to a baptismal font. Pope Luke then performs the Baptismal Rite, "I baptise you, Calixto Salvi, in the the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen." He then pours Holy Water onto the infant's head. The infant calmly looks at the Pope.

"Welcome to Earth, Calixto. We have a lot of work to do, my son," says Pope Luke as he kisses the infant's forehead.


	3. Chapter 3

Twenty two years later

Rome, Italy

Calixto was billeted at a seminary five miles northeast of the Vatican. Calixto thought of it as a respite from his regimented life in the Vatican Knights compound. From the moment Calixto learned how to walk, he was trained in the arts of war. When his powers started to develop the Knights taught him how to utilize these powers to their most destructive potential. They turned him into the Vatican's living weapon. Calixto smiled to himself as he thought of how these so-called Men of God knew a lot about war and killing.

Two weeks ago was a baptism of fire of sorts for Calixto. The Knight Commander sent him to a southeast asian country to rescue three missionaries kidnapped by a local warlord. Along with a five-man assault team of Vatican Knights, Calixto stormed the warlord's camp. With bullets bouncing off of him, he was able to subdue the warlord and force the warlord's militia to surrender. As the missionaries were boarded onto a helicopter, the Knight Commander issued an order which shook Calixto's faith, he was to kill every single one of the prisoners.

There would be no witnesses reasoned the Knight Commander. Calixto had to kill all the prisoners and burn the whole camp to the ground. There were twelve prisoners left. Those who did not fall to the Knights' submachine guns. Calixto went to each prisoner and broke their necks all the while hearing them weeping and making hasty prayers to their deity. With his heat vision, Calixto burned the entire camp to the ground leaving no evidence that they were ever there.

Calixto was lying down on his cot when a seminarian knocked on his room's door. "Brother Calixto, Cardinal Heinrich is here to see you," said the seminarian. "I'll be out in a minute," replied Calixto.

Cardinal Heinrich was the Supreme Commander of the Vatican Knights. Pope Luke had given him the duty of overseeing Calixto's training. A task he took to heart.

"Calixto! Nice to see you. I hope the accomodations in this seminary is to your liking," Father Heinrich said.

How he would love to wipe that smile off of the cardinal's face for turning him into a murderer thought Calixto. "I like it here. They just leave me alone most of the time. Very peaceful," said Calixto with a forced smile.

"I know you harbor some resentment at what we had you do two weeks ago. But what you did was to protect the Holy Mother Church for you are a soldier in God's army," said Cardinal Heinrich.

"Then you need not worry yourself about me, Father Heinrich. As you said I am soldier and a soldier follows orders without question," Calixto said grimly.

Apokolips

Darkseid sits upon his throne as he watches with interest as information about the Earth flashes on a large monitor. He considered Earth as a backwater planet had it not been for information he came upon during his search for the Anti-Life Equation.

Darkseid's search for the Anti-Life Equation had led him to a barren planet where he found an ancient tome where it was written that the crystal which holds the Equation was hidden somewhere on Earth.

Darkseid had sent his minion, Kanto to scour the planet for the crystal.

Present time (three years later)

Rome, Italy

In a cafe near Saint Peter's Square, Tanto was waiting for Father Silvio, a commander in the Vatican Knights. He caught the priest in a rather compromising position: in between two naked underaged boys. Tanto had been blackmailing Father Silvio for information in exchange for not leaking the photos to the press. Tanto smiled as he saw the priest approaching him. He motioned the priest to have a seat opposite. "This had better be something worthwhile, my master is getting quite impatient," Tanto says with a mocking smile.

"The crystal you seek. Its in the Vatican Secret Archives!" replied Father Silvio.

"Very good, Silvio. Of course you know that you would have to get me inside the City and inside the archives," Tanto said.

"That will be difficult. I don't know if I could do that," Father Silvio replied.

"Then perhaps you don't care much about your reputation anymore. Just an email to the right reporter and you will be defrocked for sure," Tanto said with a smile as he toyed with his smart phone.

"Wait! I'll do it!" Father Silvio panics.

"You have three days, Silvio. Get me inside the Vatican and I'll do the rest," Tanto said with finality.

"Now, let's have an espresso."


	4. Chapter 4

Present time

Boston

She should have listened to her mother, Diana told herself. And damn that Steve Trevor to the deepest pits of Tartarus for making a fool out of her. Diana paced inside her cell in the Circus, an A.R.G.U.S. facility located a mile below the industrial section of Boston. She was getting ready for a surgical procedure which would implant a tracking device (actually a bomb into the base of her skull) as condition for her to enjoy certain freedoms as a member of the Suicide Squad.

A year ago, Diana had been living an idyllic life in Themyscira when an opportunity to see the outside world literally fell in front of her. While out riding with her amazon sisters, a V-22 Osprey crashed into a nearby clearing. Searching through the wreckage, they came upon the lone survivor of the crash, A.R.G.U.S. operative Steve Trevor.

Seeing the arrival of a man as a sign from the gods, Queen Hippolyta decreed that a contest be held to produce a champion. The champion's task was to bring Steve Trevor back into Man's World and at the same time to learn if indeed Man's World had changed enough for the amazons to make themselves known to the world once more.

Queen Hippolyta had forbidden Diana to join the contest. But being the headstrong woman Diana was, donning a disguise Diana joined the contest and won convincingly.

Much to the dismay of Queen Hippolyta, she had no other choice but to allow Diana to leave Themyscira with Steve Trevor for Man's World. Using Diana's attraction to him, Trevor convinced Diana what she was about to do was right.

When Diana and Trevor arrived in Boston, Trevor called in his whereabouts to his superiors. Hours later, A.R.G.U.S. agents in tactical gear attacked Diana. Diana was able to put up a good fight until she was blindsided by Trevor with a stun gun. The electric charge stunned her into unconsciousness. As she drifted off she saw the grin on Trevor's face. When Diana came to, she was in the very cell she was now.

Two weeks ago, Amanda Waller offered Diana a deal wherein she would gain certain freedoms if she worked for A.R.G.U.S. on a black ops team dubbed the Suicide Squad. Feeling hopeless, Diana agreed.

Diana was lead to the infirmary. She was made to wear a hospital gown and told to lie on her stomach on the operating table. Call it sheer luck or a godsend, just as Diana was supposed to go under the knife, a power outage fell upon the Circus. Seizing the opportunity, she made a run for it. Grabbing whatever came in handy as a weapon, Diana fought her way out of the Circus, breaking arms, jaws and faces. She made her way to a side entrance where she took the skies.

Diana flew into the clouds to avoid being seen. Tired, hungry and a bit disoriented from the anaesthetic, she landed within a suburb in Boston. She was walking aimlessly when a woman in a minivan stopped by her. "Miss, where are you going? You have been walking for a while dressed in a hospital gown. You need some help?" the woman said.

"I, I am lost," said Diana.

The woman motioned Diana to the minivan's passenger side.

"Come ride with me. You must be hungry. We'll get you some clothes when we get to my house. I'm Julia, by the way."

"I am Diana. Thank you for your help."


	5. Chapter 5

Boston

Julia quickly ushered Diana into her house. She had Diana sit on the couch and went into her bedroom to look for a change of clothes for Diana. As Julia came back into the living room, she gasped. In the full light of the living room she finally recognized who she had let into her home.

In Themysciran, Julia said excitedly, "Hera's tits! Princess Diana! It is you!"

Kneeling in front of Diana and holding Diana's bloodied hands, Julia asked, "What happened to you, Princess?"

"A sister? Here in Boston? How? Why are you here?" Diana asked Julia.

"Yes, a sister. I was sent her many, many years ago. I was sent her to learn and report about Man's World," Julia replied.

Still holding Diana's hands, Julia once again asked, "What happened to you, Princess?"

"A man. A man crashed in Themyscira. I was chosen to bring him back. He deceived me. I thought he cared for me. But he had me drugged and imprisoned me for months. I had just managed to escape the prison I was in. I'm so thankful you found me, sister," replied Diana, wrapping her arms around herself as she shivered at the thought of her ordeal.

Julia could see that Diana was still shaken and that she was not ready to tell Julia the entire story. For now, she will provide Diana sanctuary. There's still plenty of time to find out what really happened to the Princess. What is time anyway for immortal amazons?

Vatican City

Pope Luke had summoned Cardinal Heinrich to a private meeting. The Pope was alarmed about the reports about the atrocities committed by the Vatican Knights. How could the cardinal allow such excesses? He thought to himself.

Cardinal Heinrich was ushered by a secretary into the Pope's office. He kissed the Pope's ring before he was motioned by the Camerlengo, Father Patrick McKenna to sit opposite the Pope.

As Cardinal Heinrich took his seat, Pope Luke said, "Reports have been coming in about your Knights overstepping their boundaries. I even have one report stating that you ordered Calixto to murder non-Catholics. You must stop this at once, Heinrich."

Cardinal Heinrich briefly considered the Pope's accusations and said, "The Knights have been protecting Holy Mother Church for centuries. We have always been working within the boundaries set by the popes. We have served in silence. But now we will no longer be silent. We shall strike out against those who seek to hurt us. We shall be like the Templars of old! True Warriors of God!"

"This is the last time I will have this discussion with you, Heinrich. I will have your order dissolved if you will not cease your foolishness!" Pope Luke raised his voice.

"No! You are the one who has been foolish! I have always looked up to you, your Holiness. But you have come to disappoint me. You are not the warrior I thought you were," said Cardinal Heinrich as he stormed out of the Pope's office slamming the door.

Looking over at Father Patrick McKenna, Pope Luke says, "Call a meeting with the cardinals. I will issue a papal bull dissolving the order of the Vatican Knights. This madness has got to stop. While you're at it, call Cardinal Luigi Benedetto. Tell him to meet me at our usual place in three days."

"At once, your Holiness," replied Father McKenna as he left the Pope's office.

Vatican Knights Compound

"The nerve of that Pope! Imagine threatening to dissolve our order! There are a lot of papabile out there who would beg us to support them. Get the Knights together. We shall not let this slight against us go lightly!" said Father Heinrich to Father Silvio.

"And Silvio, tell your visitor I will talk with him now."

Father Silvio ushers Tanto into Cardinal Heinrich's office. The cardinal motions for Tanto to sit opposite him. The two men study each other for a minute. Cardinal Heinrich spoke in Italian, "How is your Italian, Mr. Tanto?"

Tanto replies in Italian, "Passable, your Eminence."

Cardinal Heinrich smiles as Tanto replied. The cardinal then says, "I was told that you were looking for crystal?"

Tanto replies, "Yes. It is an artifact my master seeks. He is prepared to pay for it, of course. Believe me when I say that no amount is too high for him."

"I won't be asking for money in return for the crystal. I seek a service that I know you can provide for me." Cardinal Heinrich say with a smirk.

"I don't think I understand what you are implying, your Eminence," replied Tanto.

"I have come to know that you are in the service of having people permanently removed. Maybe we can come to an arrangement?" Cardinal Heinrich says in a neutral tone.

Tanto considers the cardinal's offer for a short while and says, "I think we have a deal." He stands up and offers his hand all the time smiling.

Cardinal Heinrich takes Tanto's hand and says, "I still have a meeting to attend to. Silvio will give you the specifics. Until then, Mr. Tanto."

"Until then, your Eminence," says Tanto with a bow.


	6. Chapter 6

The Vatican Knights Compound

Calixto was roused from his sleep by several kicks to his cot by Father Silvio. "Wake up you good for nothing alien. Cardinal Heinrich wants to have a word with you. Sometimes I wonder what the Pope sees in you," said the priest, not hiding his contempt for Calixto.

"Yeah, yeah. Give me a minute. Stop with the kicking already. If you don't stop, I'll break that gangly neck of yours!" Calixto said with a sneer. He stood up to his full height. With his irises glowing red, Calixto cracked his knuckles as he menacingly approached Father Silvio.

Father Silvio was backed into the wall of Calixto's room. A cold sweat trickled down his spine. He knew of Calixto's abilities. This was going to be very painful indeed. "You! You wouldn't hit a priest, would you?" Father Silvio asked Calixto in a small voice.

"Enough of this! Calixto! A word please!" Cardinal Heinrich calls out to Calixto. Father Silvio lets out a sigh of relief as Calixto backs away from him to go to the cardinal.

Calixto walks out of his room and goes to where Cardinal Heinrich was standing. "I wasn't going to hit him, your Eminence," Calixto said as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Nevertheless, he is your superior in our hierarchy. I will turn a blind on this for now as I have an important mission for you. There is something I need you to retrieve for me from the archives. It is an object of great import. You must get this object and deliver it to this man." said the cardinal as he shows Calixto Tanto's picture on his smartphone.

"The archives? I'm not even allowed in there," said Calixto.

"What's the matter, Calixto? Don't you trust me?" Cardinal Heinrich said with a smirk.

Calixto had a feeling that this was not going to end well for him.

Boston

Steve Trevor sits behind his desk in his office at the A.R.G.U.S. facility. He couldn't believe the news that Diana managed to escape the Circus. Watching the footage of her escape, he could not help but feel awed at how good a fighter she is. Diana used a scalpel, a broom, a fire extinguisher and her fists to incapacitate thirty A.R.G.U.S. operatives. Add to that the fact that they pumped enough drugs into Diana's to keep her compliant.

He opened his desk's bottom drawer and took out a bottle of scotch and poured himself some of the scotch in his coffee mug. Sipping some of the bitter liquid to ease the sense of dread washing over him. What if Diana's still in Boston? He thought to himself.

Julia's house

As Diana slept, Julia watched her from the guest room's door as she tossed and turned in bed. Something happened to the princess, she was sure of it!

Somewhere in Rome

Darkseid appears via a hologram in front of Tanto. "Report!" Darkseid says with authority.

Tanto kneels on one knee and stammers, "Lord Darkseid. I, I have located the crystal. The humans will bring it to me in two days time in exchange for my services."

"Do they know of the crystal's secret?" asked Darkseid.

"No, my Lord Darkseid. They do not know."

"Very well, once you get the crystal, bring it to Apokolips at once."

"Yes, my Lord."

Vatican Secret Archives

Calixto stood over two swiss guards he had knocked out. He was making sure he had not killed them. Sometimes he was unsure of his own strength. As soon as he was satisfied the guards were still alive, he slowly made his way into the archives. Pietro, the Vatican Knight accompanying Calixto made his way to the CCTV terminals to tap into the feeds.

Calixto used his x-ray vision to search for the crystal. Seeing the crystal on a shelf nearby, Calixto blurs his way towards it. As he picks up the crystal, he noticed something that looked like a spacecraft in a nearby corner of the archives.

The spacecraft seemed to beckon Calixto. When Calixto touched the spacecraft, it started to hum. Its canopy disengaged to reveal a cockpit that had a control panel with what seemed as crystals for switches and levers. What the f*k he tells himself and he slips into the cockpit.

As Calixto eased himself into the cockpit, the interior adjusted itself to fit his frame. A hologram of a man appeared before Calixto and said, "Hello, Kal-El. I am your father, Jor-El."

Calixto weakly climbed out of the cockpit. He slid down to its side and slowly stood up. Experiencing some sort of sensory overload, Calixto momentarily loses his balnce and leans on the spacecraft. Pietro comes over to him and says, "What happened to you Calixto? Do you have the crystal? We have to get out of here!"

Calixto holds up the crystal to show Pietro the places it inside his satchel bag. Still woozy, Calixto shakes it off and runs with Pietro towards the exits.

Pope Luke's office

The Papal Apartments

"A crystal dating back to the 1200's was stolen this morning. The two Swiss Guards on duty were found bound and unconscious in a store room. The camera feeds were all tampered with," reports the Commander of the Swiss Guard.

"Thank you for your report, Gunther. Who could have committed this theft?" Pope Luke asked to no one in particular.

"It was those Vatican Knights, your Holiness! We should dissolve their order and excommunicate that sorry lot!" said Cardinal Benedetto.

"Luigi, we do not even have a shred of evidence that they were behind this theft. The camera feeds were tampered with. Let us let the Swiss Guard do their job," Pope Luke chides the cardinal.

"I understand, your Holiness. I'm sorry for my outburst," replies Cardinal Benedetto.

Vatican Knights safehouse

Rome

Calixto stares at the crystal he took from the archives. He saw something about this crystal on the holograms in the spacecraft. This was a dangerous artifact it said. What was the good Cardinal Heinrich up to?


End file.
